Aiden McGeady explains why he's relaxed about Sunderland's slow progress in the transfer market

McGeady handed the Black Cats a major boost earlier this week by agreeing to extend his contract for a further year, and he is likely to be involved in the first pre-season friendly against Spennymoor Town on Saturday afternoon.

Announced as a 'training exercise', the game is set to be played in three, thirty-minute spells.

With Lee Johnson's squad currently low on senior players, a number of academy prospects are set to be handed an opportunity.

McGeady has said that while he understands anxiety that the club are yet to make an addition in the summer window, it could yet prove to be the right approach.

"I know the way football works and obviously there haven't been any signings yet," he told safc.com

"You can understand fans starting to get anxious at not seeing new faces, but also you can probably look at past experiences in this league where we have signed players and jumped the gun and rushed into it - and maybe it's not the right thing to do.

"I think the club are taking their time. Obviously it's quite a depleted squad because there's been a lot of players let go, but being positive is focusing on what's in the building just now and the players who can provide what the manager wants and get a full understanding of that. "

McGeady added that the team would be stronger for being able to enjoy a full pre-season with the new head coach.

"This is the manager's first pre-season with the team," he said.

"He joined in December and it's difficult to get your ideas across in such a short space of time without having an extended break or pre-season because we had two games a week pretty much from December to the end of the season.

"It's important, pre-season is the time for getting fit and starting to play a brand of football that the manager wants.

"Like I say, I can understand that people get anxious when there's not a raft of new signings coming in but I think that will happen eventually.

"Hopefully this season can be successful, that's what everybody wants."

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